With a young team and one of the toughest schedules
of any Big 12 squad, the 2000 Sooners took to the field
with everything to gain and nothing to lose. OU rolled
through its four September games, outscoring its opponents
176-51 and setting up contests with three nationally-ranked
teams: Texas (10), Kansas State (2) and Nebraska
(1).

Now referred to as "Red October," the Sooners dismantled
the Longhorns, 63-14, won at K-State, 41-31, and handled
the top-ranked Huskers, 31-14. The victories against
KSU and Nebraska marked the first time in NCAA history
that one team had defeated the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked
teams in consecutive games.

At the top of every national poll for the first time
since the end of the 1985 season, OU found itself navigating
uncharted waters. Now the hunted and just four victories
away from the third 11-0 regular season in school history,
the Sooners moved through November with caution.

Starting the stretch run with a 56-7 win at Baylor,
OU faced Texas A&M in College Station, where the Aggies
had lost just six times in the last 12 years.

Trailing 24-13 heading into the final quarter and 31-21
with just eight minutes to play, OU was looking for
the famous Sooner Magic to make an appearance. After
Quentin Griffin scored to cut the Aggie lead to three
(31-28) with 7:43 remaining, it was time for the defense
to make a statement.

On the very first offensive play for A&M, Oklahoma
linebacker Torrance Marshall intercepted a pass and
returned it 41 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
A&M drove to the Sooner 10-yard line on its next possession,
but the Aggies were stopped four times trying to get
into the end zone.

The Sooners finished the regular season with wins over
Texas Tech (27-13) and Oklahoma State (12-7) to set
up a rematch with the Wildcats of Kansas State for
the Big 12 championship and a chance to play for a
national title against Florida State in the Orange
Bowl.

Once again the Sooner defense stepped up to hold K-State
to just 239 total yards of offense (185 below its average).
Offensively, Josh Heupel accounted for 21 points with
a TD run and two scoring passes. When placekicker Tim
Duncan hit a career-long 46-yard field goal with 1:25
to play, the Sooners were headed to Miami.

With the entire nation looking on, No. 1 Oklahoma used
a smothering defense to shut down the third-ranked
Seminoles and Heupel generated enough offense to lead
the Sooners to a perfect season. The Sooners beat Bobby
Bowden and FSU, 13-2, at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

Heupel more than made up for his runner-up finish to
Florida State's Chris Weinke in the Heisman Trophy
race by outplaying him in the biggest game of his life.
The left-hander from Aberdeen, S.D., completed 25-of-39
passes for 214 yards and kept the Seminoles off balance
all night.

Led by Orange Bowl MVP Torrance Marshall, the Sooners
time and again forced Weinke into bad decisions. At
least half a dozen passes were in the hands of Sooner
defenders but dropped.

Tim Duncan kicked two field goals and Quentin
Griffin scored the clinching touchdown on a 10-yard
run up the middle with 8:30 to play. Florida State
avoided its first shutout in 12 seasons when Stanford
Samuels tackled OU punter Jeff Furguson in the end
zone for a safety with 55 seconds remaining in the
game.

Florida State got the ball back on the ensuing free
kick, but Weinke's 29-yard pass into the end zone was
intercepted by Ontei Jones with 16 seconds left and
the celebration began.

After Heupel took a knee and the clock ran down, the
Pride of Oklahoma broke out in yet another rendition
of Boomer Sooner and the players and fans converged
on the field to celebrate.

Stoops hugged players and assistants after OU clinched
its seventh national title as many in the crowd of
76,835 at Pro Player Stadium cheered.

Sooner Sports Powered by FOX Sports is a multi-platform network that provides distribution of 1,000+ hours of Sooner sports programming annually on a variety of FOX Sports outlets, including FOX Sports Oklahoma, FOX Sports Southwest, and FOX College Sports. Additionally, the partnership between the University of Oklahoma and FOX Sports includes a comprehensive digital component featuring extensive "all-access" content not televised on FOX Sports networks including live streaming, archived games, and exclusive materials.

OU inspires champions today and prepares leaders for tomorrow by enabling its student-athletes to achieve their highest academic, athletic and personal aspirations. The OU Athletics Department sponsors 21 varsity sports with more than 600 student-athletes and is completely self-supporting.

Sooner Sports Properties, LLC, is the multimedia rights holder for athletics at the University of Oklahoma. Sooner Sports Properties is a joint venture of Learfield Communications and Tyler Media (parent company of radio flagships KOKC and KRXO-FM).